October 2026– date –

How far from the microphone to sing when recording a cover song, what a pop filter does, the proximity effect that strengthens the lows when you get too close, and tips for keeping the distance constant, based on official information from Shure and Audio-Technica.

How to choose a MIDI keyboard for DTM, explained by number of keys, key feel, pads and knobs, and bundled software, with eight models from mini keyboards to full-size compared.

The flow from receiving, installing and activating a plug-in you got in a Plugin Boutique sale or as a free gift to using it in your DAW. The differences in activation methods by maker, and what to do when it does not show up in your DAW.

The basics of loudness to know before you release a cover song or your own track. What LUFS is, how Spotify evens out volume and its target (-14 LUFS), a guide for true peak and how to measure with a loudness meter, based on Spotify's official help.

Basic steps for recording vocals at home, from how to connect gear to microphone distance, a guide for input level, headphone monitoring, DAW recording settings and export, with generally recommended values and sources.

Whether to buy DTM plug-ins at overseas stores (Plugin Boutique, Best Service and others) or at Japanese distributors (Rock oN, Media Integration, beatcloud, SONICWIRE). The differences in price, exchange rate, payment methods, Japanese-language support and license management, based on information checked on September 24, 2026.

Free plug-ins for mixing vocals, sorted by role (EQ, compressor, pitch correction, reverb, delay, saturation). Twelve products confirmed free on the makers' official pages, with the order to use them and the caveats of free versions.

If your home recordings sound poor, suspect room echo. The difference between soundproofing and sound absorption, where to put absorbing material, reflection filters, easy methods using a closet or blankets, and notes for rented homes.

The current state of free DAWs such as GarageBand, Cakewalk Sonar, Reason Free, Cubase LE/AI, Ableton Live Lite, FL Studio, Waveform Free, LMMS, Ardour, BandLab and Fender Studio Pro (formerly Studio One), checked on official pages. The differences between completely free, bundled-only and trial, with a comparison table.

The basics of export settings when you export a cover song or your own track from a DAW. File formats such as WAV, how to choose a sample rate, bit depth and dither, and what normalize means, based on the official manuals of Ableton Live and Cubase.